Banks & Fund Managers Want the European Stock Trading Day Shortened by 90 Minutes

Banks and fund managers want the European stock trading day shortened by 90 minutes in a radical move they say would improve market efficiency and staff wellbeing - but exchanges are split.

The Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), a banking industry body, and UK-based Investment Association (IA), which represents asset managers, said Europe had some of the longest trading hours in the world at 8-1/2 hours.

This compares with 6-1/2 hours on Wall Street and 6 hours in Asia, the two industry bodies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

AFME and IA, whose members including Goldman Sachs, Barclays, BlackRock and BNP Paribas account for the bulk of share trading, said they were talking with major European exchanges to explore cutting the trading day by 90 minutes.

The opening bell would be rung at 0900 GMT, an hour later than at present, with the close 30 minutes earlier at 1600 GMT.

The first hour of trading currently attracts light volumes, making it more costly to trade, with over a third of trading in the final hour.

“Shortening the hours would concentrate liquidity leading to more consistent trading costs and provide greater time for traders and the market to digest corporate announcements,” AFME and IA said.

Long hours affect the mental health and wellbeing of traders and are a key obstacle to recruiting more diverse staff, in particular for those with family or caring commitments, they added.

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